Nursing-nipple



(No Model.)

W. M. DECKER.

NURSING NIPPLE. No. 587,989. Patented Aug. 10.1897.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

IVILLIAM M. DECKER, OF KINGSTON, NEV YORK.

NURSING-NIPPLE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 587,939, dated August 10, 1897.

Application filed November 6, 1896. Serial No. 611,240. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, TILLIAM M. DECKER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Kingston, in the county of Ulster and State of New York, have, invented certain new and useful Improvements in Nursing Devices; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in nursing devices, and particularly to that class shown and described in Letters Patent No. 521,773 granted to me June 19, 1894. In the device shown in the said Letters Patent there is employed a conoidal elastic cover to the fluid-receptacle, said cover consisting, practically, of a breast and nipple made integral and designed to be secured over the open end of the fluid-receptacle. The purposes of such construction are fully set forth in the Letters Patent referred to. From practical experience in the use of said device I have discovered that the breast portion of the cover has a tendency to sink or draw down into the cell or receptacle and also to collapse laterally as a result of suction, and the nipple portion consequently has a tendency to likewise sink bodily and turn over laterally.

The object of my present invention is to overcome this disadvantage and to provide a cover which while it shall be readily adjustable over the cell will permit of lateral and rotary motion both of the breast and nipple portions of the device; and with these ends in view my invention consists of a combined breast and nipple made integral and having a reinforce below the nipple, as will be here inafter more fully described.

In order that those skilled in the art to which my invention appertains may fully understand the same, I will proceed to describe the construction and operation of my improvement, referring to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a side View of a breast and nipple embodying my improvements, and Fig. 2 is a central vertical section of the same.

Similar letters of reference denote like parts in both views. v

A represents the breast, which terminates at its base in a rib or bead B to give it stability and elastic force to suitably bind it over the open end of a suitable cell or fluid receptacle.

O is the nipple, formed integral with the breast and suitably punctured to admit of the passage of fluid by suction.

I In the construction shown and described in the Letters Patent hereinbefore referred to the breast portion A is made of uniform thickness, and as a result of such uniformity of thickness the breast and nipple are liable to the action heretofore described.

In my improved construction, as shown at Fig. 2, I reinforce or thicken the breast portion at D, as clearly shown, constituting a conical zone, lens-shaped in cross-section, which tends to hold that portion of the breast above said zone and the nipple O in a state of expansion, for when the walls of the nipple approach under the action of suction the tendency is to collapse theapex of the breast and draw it into the mouth of the baby, but the upper edge of the lens-like zone or reinforce encircling the breast where'the arc of greatest curvature in the breast begins and where the diameter is small causes the upper zone of the breast to recoil with considerable force or with much more force than it would have if the breast was of uniform thickness, and hence the increased resistance is sufficient to prevent a babe from collapsing the apex of the breast and drawing it into its mouth, thus avoiding choking and faulty or unnatural nursing.

The beneficial results flowing from myimproved construction cannot be obtained by increasing the thickness throughout the entire structure, because it would not then be easy of adjustment over the cell and it would not as readily adapt itself to the lateral and rotary motion at its base or the nipple on the breast, and as a whole it would not simulate the natural or mothers breast, and it would be impossible to turn the breast and nipple for cleaning, and,furtherm ore, such increased thickness would render the bore of the nipple so small in diameter and the walls so thick that it would be impossible for a babe to contract or compress the walls by suction, as they would, practically speaking, be unyielding.

By reference to Fig. 2 it will be seen that the exterior and interior surfaces of the reinforced zone approach at the top and bottom edges of the zone, and as the reinforce grows less in thickness above its center the diameter of the zone grows less. Thus nearly equal support is maintained with less material, and below the reinforce center the reverse is true, because toward the base of the breast the gradually diminishing support is compensated for by the stability of the lower portion of the breast When located over the cell, While as a whole the breast is braced vertically. The thickened zone also guards against a side or lateral collapse or sinking in sidewise of the breast, because the thickened portion of the breast is heaviest at its center and that is the point requiring the greatest resistance to the outside atmospheric pressure until the air enters to reestablish the normal conditions.

WVhile I have shown the thickened zone of lens-like form, it will be understood that I do not wish to be limited to that exact form, as the thickened portion may at its upper extremity terminate in an acute angle, as shown.

or in an obtuse angle, so that the thickened portion at its upper. boundary may be equal to, greater, or less than the thickness of the central portion.

Having described the construction and advantages of my improved breast and nipple,

what I claim as new, and desire to secure by 

